The belvedere

A grey expanse covers the sky
Light barely gets through
the dark days after Christmas

A mist softly shrouds
the treetops all around
coalescing into a soft soft drizzle

The belvedere stands tall
but offers no views
the valley is shrouded from sight

The trees stand motionless
to attention
as they remember

A dozen young men
picked up, at random?
and executed in these woods

68 years ago last month
we remember their names
their sacrifice

The mist settles
into droplets on branches
in mourning perhaps

The cruelty of occupation
spared to those in the northwest
who nonetheless fought to end it

Their sacrifice too
is not forgotten around these woods
on a dark January day

Grey

Grey
whichever way you look
Yellow
a distant light

Piercing the curtains
that are drawn
over our little town
November gloom

Wind
Blows impatiently
Ruffling the sea
in the direction of its force

Faded
the light of day
Barely started
Streetlights still - or already - on

Late November dusk

As daylight fades
from the east
Towers of clouds
line the far horizon

A sliver of moon
plays hide and seek
with shreds of
remnant cloud

The sun slowly heads
southwest towards its
colourful bed
set amidst distant cloud

The first gusts of
nighttime winds
shake droplets from
bare branches

Faint streetlights
illuminate and reflect
darkened streets
where few venture forth

Autumn day

Rivers running down the glass
Distorting the view outside
A rapid patter of drops
and an impatient buffeting by wind

Visibility quite poor
but there isn't much to see
today is an autumnal day
as chill makes way for mild

Darkness falls near four fifteen
and daylight's getting very short
Six weeks left till solstice day
and we'll hunker down some more

Bowed down into the wind
Minimising time outside
warmed by a cosy fire
ignoring mother nature's ill temper

A dreich day

Light fades over the islands
Grey to greyer still
not a ray of
sunshine to be had today

The drizzle hides
what isn't that far off
the breeze shakes
the now bare branches

From sun-soaked seas
to the northern Hebrides
a final hint of distant
summer wafts our way

Soon the edge of mild
will move away east
leaving us with crisp
and once more chill

A grain of hail
a splash of wet snow
winter draws near
dark at half four

Look north for the
merry dancers
a moving green
curtain down from the pole

Even further north
beyond the land of fire
no sunshine at all
on solstice day

A wet day

Hueless grey drapes across the skies
Uniform in colour, or lack of it
The sun, wan and without warmth,
peeps through the veil a final time

A single drop falls on the ground
followed by countless more
the window soon is streaming
if there was light, the wet road would shine

Darkness comes in well before
the sun heads towards dusk
Lights come on, although it's daytime
Cheerless gloom slowly moves up from the east

The yellow glare of the street lanterns
is softened by the glow of light
reflected by the falling rain
closed out by drawn curtains

A fire dully flickers in the hearth
born of sunshine from when the earth was young
chases the chill of a rainy day
away out and up the chimney